


Dark Dragonborn

by Sylvia_Fey



Series: Malyolpeyt [3]
Category: Dark Series - Christine Feehan, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Crossover, Fighting, Gen, Original Character(s), Vampires, sHOUTS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:21:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22873183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvia_Fey/pseuds/Sylvia_Fey
Summary: Because I like to torture myself and have too many ideas in my head, I decided to write a Carpathian/Skyrim crossover with my main female character Misty Dovahkiir. I was a little disappointed that nobody, that I know of, has written a crossover between Skyrim and the Dark series. If you don't know Misty, here's the link to her story.https://archiveofourown.org/works/14877669/chapters/34450866The only thing I own is the ideas, some scenarios, and Misty.Melissa Dovahkiir, Misty, ends up back in the real world, but unlike the real world she's known, this world is the world of the Carpathians, a strong race of people that spend most of their lives hunting down vampires. In order for her to return to her world, she'll have to dive deep into the Carpathians' world to find a way home whether they accept her as an ally or not. Fueled by her determination and stubbornness, can she find her way back home, or will it be more trouble than it's worth? Lucky for her, the Prince finds her amusing...
Series: Malyolpeyt [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1131020
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	1. Falkreath Holde?

**Author's Note:**

> I just started rereading and listening to the Dark series so if things are inaccurate, I'm sorry. I try to look stuff up to keep it accurate but sometimes I get lazy. ^_^' be gentle.

She groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, the nip of the air starting to get to her, sending goosebumps down her arms. She looked up at the sky through the pine trees, the stars glittered down at her and the moon... _One moon?_ she thought, sitting up with an achy groan, her muscles and bones creaking. She inhaled the sharp scent of pine forest and cold making her sigh. _I must be in Falkreath,_ she thought, looking around as she pushed to her feet, adjusting the swords on her hips and back and her bow going across her chest, _how the hell'd I end up here?_ She sighed again, rolling her shoulders and stamping her boots on the ground, _I better head to the village and get a horse back to High Reach before Hawke tears Skyrim apart looking for me._ She looked up at the stars, trying to determine where she was and which way to go before she felt as if something was off. She furrowed her brows, closing her eyes and allowing her wolf nature to take over so she could hear and smell everything around her. She wrinkled her nose at the stench coming from somewhere in the trees behind her. Like rotting flesh except more putrid. _Zombie,_ she thought, slowly removing the bow from her back and nocking an arrow, _I must be in Traysek's world again. He's got zombies walking around this area._ She heard the slightest whisper of movement behind her and turned quickly, taking aim at a dark figure standing in the shadow of the trees. 

"Alright, you. Come out nice and slow like, or you get an arrow in the skull," she said, her voice calm and even as she focused in on the figure. 

The figure stepped out of the darkness, his dark eyes latched to her as a smirk spread over his thin lips, "my, my. Aren't you a delicious looking little thing?" he purred, running his tongue over his lips. 

From her time spent helping Vero take over Castle Volkihar, she knew a vampire when she saw one, and this guy was a vampire. She narrowed her eyes at him as he took a step toward her, pulling the string tighter, making the bow groan with the tension and causing the vampire to hesitate. She smirked back at him, "if you know what's good for you, bloodsucker, you'll walk away before I decide to start a political incident with one of my best friends."

The vampire tilted his head, narrowing his dark eyes at her as he studied her, his eyes moving down her body to take in her attire before smirking again, "I like them with a little fight."

She inhaled, knowing what he was going to do before he disappeared, "FEIM!" she shouted, becoming ethereal as his taloned hand thrust through where her chest was. 

His eyes widened as he jumped back, hissing at her with long sharp fangs and a twisted expression, "witch!"

She rolled her eyes, taking aim at him as she became corporeal again, "no. Dragonborn." She released the arrow, scowling as the vampire moved out of the way as if the arrow were standing still. Automatically, she dropped the bow, turning as she pulled her swords and swinging out, cutting across the vampire's chest, spilling black blood into the sparse snow between them. 

He hissed again, jumping back as he did. He looked down at the blood on his chest, giving her the most furious expression she had ever seen, his eyes glowing red as he hissed at her again.

She chuckled, taking a fighting stance, "what's wrong, princess? Can't stand getting your ass kicked by a girl?"

The vampire growled, baring his teeth at her from between cracked lips before rushing forward, his talons extended and his teeth shining in the moonlight. She turned, bringing her blades around to connect with his shoulder, imbedding in the creature as he roared, swiping his claws around to her. She leaned back, avoiding the desperate attack before shoving her other sword up into his chest. He stilled, his red eyes staring at her as he growled, snapping his teeth at her from mere inches away. She ground her teeth, his strength starting to get the best of her before she locked eyes with him. There was nothing there but malicious intent and hunger. She gritted her teeth, putting her foot against his chest and kicking out, pushing herself away from him and leaving the sword in his shoulder. She watched him stumble half a step before recuperating and crouching to attack again. 

She inhaled as he shot forward, "Wahl Yol Horvutah!" she shouted, a wall of fire erupting from the ground as he appeared in front of her.

He shrieked, his clothing catching fire as he shot into the air, flying off into the darkness like a fireball from a dragon's mouth. 

She huffed, "Yol Oblaan," she muttered, frowning as she walked to her bow, picking it up from the ground as she replaced her sword on her hip, "son of a bitch, he's still got my sword."

* * *

The two owls in the trees watched as she retrieved her arrow. The Carpathians inside having been hunting the vampire she just set ablaze for a week.

_We should keep an eye on her. That kind of power... I've never seen it before,_ Zev's voice echoed through Fenris's head.

_Nor have I,_ Fenris said back, the owl flapping its wings restlessly. 

The two birds took off with screeches, flying over her head as she made her way through the forest toward the direction the vampire had flown off to. She stopped, looking around before frowning and pulling out a large paper from the pouch on her hip, opening it up and reading over it before looking around again. Fenris slipping into her mind, listening to her thoughts and searching for any sign of danger from this fearless woman. Her thoughts, memories and brain waves were so... unusual. It made him curious about her, but not so much to let down his guard. 

_Falkreath should be around here. Maybe I went the wrong way._ She frowned at the map in her hands, _no, that's not right._ She looked up at the sky, seeming to search for something and getting more confused and agitated. _Where're the northern lights? Where's the other moon? Where the living fuck am I?_

_Maybe we should help her out?_ Zev made it a question, wanting to follow Fenris's lead if he thought they should just let the woman deal with being lost alone.

Fenris sensed the concern for this woman from his friend and sighed, _alright. But be cautious Zev. She doesn't seem like the kind to just let us walk up to her and offer directions._

Zev's chuckle was warm as the two descended from the trees a short distance away from the woman, shapeshifting back to their human forms. 

"What if we build a camp and give her a hint to head this way? It would be a lot less suspicious if she just stumbled into a random camp," Zev suggested, getting a nod from Fenris. 

The two waved their hands, creating a camp that looked like it had been there for a few days. The fire lit, sending smoke into the air and flickering light across the near trees. Fenris faced toward the direction that the woman was, putting a little nudge in her mind to start heading this way as they took a seat around the fire, and waited. 

* * *

_Maybe I should go this way,_ she thought, turning and sighing as she put the map back in her satchel and started walking. It wasn't long before she spotted firelight through the trees and cautiously moved toward it. The campsite came into view after a few more steps, revealing a couple of men sitting at the fire, watching it flicker in the pit. She narrowed her eyes, thinking about turning around and walking away, the silence between the two men disturbing her slightly. _People aren't that quiet unless there's something going on between them,_ she thought, taking a careful step away from the edge of the treeline. 

Almost as if her thoughts spurred it, the man on the other side of the fire looked at the man closer to her and spoke. 

"That was delicious. Who knew rabbit could taste like that," the man said, leaning back as he patted his stomach.

She frowned, narrowing her eyes at him, _did I step into a conversation trigger or something?_

"Yes, it was," the man closest to her said, giving the fire a smile. 

She waited for more conversation before stepping farther away from the campsite, her back bumping into something behind her. She closed her eyes, mentally praying that it wasn't another vampire before turning, looking up at the tall man as he scowled down at her, the air of danger around the man put her on high alert, but she didn't move away, narrowing her eyes at him. _I didn't even hear him,_ she thought. He shifted his footing, snapping her out of her stupor as she shouted, "WULD!" sending herself rocking across the campsite before turning, drawing her bow and taking aim at him, "what the fuck are you?"

The man that started the conversation poked at the fire, tilting his head to look over his shoulder at her, "we could ask you the same thing."

She snorted, "ladies first."

The man chuckled, getting to his feet and dusting himself off, "are you always this snarky?"

She narrowed her eyes, "yes."

He gave her a grin that probably would have melted her on the spot... several years ago, "I like that."

She snorted, "get in line, bub."

"So, who and what are you?" the other man at the fire asked, getting to his feet as well as the man across the campsite stepped into the light, watching her with deep, dark, dangerous eyes. 

"You want my name, titles or both?" she asked, keeping her bow trained on the more dangerous of the group.

"Titles? With an s?" the man closest to her asked, giving her a raised eyebrow and tilting his head. 

She nodded, "yes."

The two men glanced at one another, the third barely making any noise or movement as he kept staring at her. 

"Take a picture, buddy, it'll last longer," she growled, glaring at the still man. 

The man's eyes narrowed for a moment before he appeared in front of her, startling her into shouting, "YOL!" as she fell on her ass. The man moved back across the campsite, barely avoiding the sudden flames as he frowned, feeling that his eyebrows had been singed from it. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?!" She snarled, glaring at him from where she had fallen, "put a Goddamned bell on or something! FUCK!"

The first man started laughing as the second chuckled, amused at her jump scare. 

"It's not fucking funny!" she hissed, getting to her feet, "fucking vampires popping up in random fucking places. Scaring me and shit." She shot the dangerous man another glare, "fuck you, you fucking spook!"

If she thought that the dangerous man couldn't get any more dangerous, she was wrong. She felt terror, pure terror, rip through her as he glared at her from across the campsite, but she stood her ground. _If I let them scare me, that'll be it. Just act like your facing the Jarls that hate you... and can kill you... and eat you... I'm fucked._ The two men chuckled again, bringing her attention to them. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Nothing," the man closest to her said, waving her question off. 

"Are you going to tell us who you are, and what you are, or do we need to find other means of making you talk?" the second man said, giving her a dark smirk.

She narrowed her eyes at him, standing a little straighter, "fucking try it."

They stood staring at one another for a few seconds before the man closest to her cleared his throat, "maybe we should take her to Mikhail and see if he knows anything about who and what she is."

The other man glanced at his friend, thinking for a moment before nodding, "that does seem like the best option since we're not getting anywhere here."

She frowned at his comment, knowing that he was making a roundabout point of calling her difficult. She snorted, folding her arms over her chest, _sweetheart, you have no idea how difficult I can really be._

The man chuckled as if he could read her thoughts and rolled his eyes, "let's get going then. It'll be sunup soon."

* * *

They trudged through the forest and random snowdrifts, moving at a fairly quick pace. She glanced over her shoulder at the dangerous man, not liking having him behind her, especially after almost setting him on fire. _Heh, serves you right, you son of a bitch. That'll teach you to fucking appear out of nowhere._ She turned back ahead, ignoring the man's low growl of warning behind her. 

_There's a vampire not far from us to the north,_ Zev said, keeping a steady pace ahead of the woman. 

_I noticed,_ Fenris replied, glancing back at Zacarias as the man stalked behind them. _What brings you out here, Andre?_

_The wall of flames and the fireball that flew from it,_ Andre's voice in their heads sounded as agitated as he looked. _Where did this woman come from?_

_We don't know. That's what we were going to find out,_ Zev said, glancing back at the woman, taking note of the scars on her cheek and temple. "Where'd you get the scars?"

She looked at him as they walked, looking almost annoyed at his question, "why?"

He shrugged, "just trying to make conversation. Is there something wrong with that?"

She seemed to think about that for a moment, "I guess not," she said, going quiet once again.

_Guess she's not much of a talker,_ he thought, turning back toward the trail. 

_Let me try,_ Fenris offered, clearing his throat. "Where are you from?"

"Originally or before I got here?" she asked without looking back at him.

"There's a difference?"

"Yes."

Again, no answers and more silence. 

Zev sighed, "you're a really talkative one. Why don't you let someone else get a word in once in a while?"

She let out a snorted laugh, tightening her lips together to keep from laughing more. 

That seemed to lighten the mood slightly as he looked over his shoulder at her, "see? We're not such bad people."

She rolled her eyes, "excuse me for not believing that." And once again, they were silent, though the tension had loosened slightly.

They stepped out of the forest and onto a paved road, giving her pause as she looked down at the concrete under her feet.

"Wait..." she muttered, tapping her boot on the road as she frowned, "this isn't right..."

"What's wrong?" Fenris asked, giving her confusion a raised eyebrow.

Her eyes started to widen with the realization, "I'm... in the real world? What? How? When?"

Zev and Fenris exchanged a glance as she seemed to have some sort of mental breakdown.

"Hey, take it easy, honey. What's got you so freaked out?" Zev asked, trying to calm her.

She took a deep, calming breath, looking around the area with a frown, "this doesn't look like home though."

"And, where is home?" Zev urged gently, getting her attention.

"America," she stated, lowering her eyes to the ground as she thought, "it must have been another dwemer mechanism that shifted time and space. God, I'm getting sick of those."

"Dwemer?" Fenris asked, tilting his head slightly.

She sighed, "I'll explain when you take me to this Mikhail guy. I don't like to repeat myself."

Zev and Fenris shared another glance before Andre moved forward.

"We do not have time for explanations. The prince is waiting," he growled, grabbing hold of her wrist, his grip like the iron shackles that had held her so long ago. 

She scowled at him, turning to glare up at him, "let go or I'll set you on fire on purpose this time," she growled back, her expression and stance holding no fear. 

He narrowed his eyes at her, slipping into her mind and finding no fear at all, as opposed to when he had first come across her, just... silence and resolve. He didn't release her, nor did he step away from her, but he found himself... curious about this small woman. Never had he met anyone that wasn't afraid of him and his nack for being a ghost... at least, not until he finally found his lifemate, Teagan. "You are strange."

She snorted, taking a deep breath, "FUS RO DAH!" she shouted, sending him flying back away from her into the nearby trees. She frowned as she walked forward, standing in front of him as he grunted from the impact, leaning against the tree as he scowled at her, "I warned you, bright eyes. Maybe next time you'll fucking listen." She turned her back on Andre, looking at the other two with a stern expression as they stared at her with shock, "now, at the expense of sounding like an alien, take me to your leader."


	2. Prince Mikhail Dubrinsky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting with Mikhail, the Prince of the Carpathian people, she's given a room in his house. Is it to keep an eye on her or an offer of peace? Well... she did threaten him...

She followed the rougher looking man into the large house and down the hallway to a large office where several men stood behind a man sitting in a wing back chair behind a desk. The three men that escorted her gave him a bow before standing straight and motioning toward her.

"Mikhail, this is the woman we told you about," Fenris said, slightly annoyed at the disrespect she was showing the head of their people. 

Mikhail studied her for a few moments, his eyes scanning over her and her strange attire that reminded him of the days of medieval times when everyone wore armor and tunics. His lips curved up in a gentle smile as he stood, moving around the desk with his hand extended, "hello there. I am Mikhail Dubrinsky, Prince of the Carpathian people."

She blinked at his blunt confession, expecting to get the run-around and lies from people she didn't know. She reached out, taking his hand and shaking, _firm grip_ , "Melissa Dovahkiir, High Queen of Skyrim, Dragonborn, and Daughter of the First Dragonborn," she said, as their hands retracted, "also known as Malyolpeyt to the Dovs."

He smiled at her, "queen, you say."

She nodded, "the two people vying for the throne were going for it for selfish reasons, so I took it and put myself in the seat."

He studied her for a few seconds before nodding, still smiling at her, "impressive. So you took the throne in your country to keep people that wouldn't do any good for the people from taking over and possibly making the country worse," he hummed, moving to take a seat back behind his desk, "except, I've never heard of this country, Skyrim."

She chuckled, "you wouldn't have unless you play Bethesda video games," she glanced at the strong, stoic looking men standing at the Prince's back, "which I doubt any of you do."

He leaned forward on the desk, looking intrigued, "video games? Are you saying you're from a video game?"

She sighed, suddenly feeling tired, "it's a long complicated story."

"I like stories," he said, giving her a soft smile that didn't reach his eyes.

She stared back, her own expression guarded before she nodded, "very well," she said, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk without prompting, ignoring the annoyed tongue clicks and snorts from the men around them, "I'm from America, originally..."

* * *

"... and I woke up in the forest," she said with a shrug, leaning back in the chair, "just another day in the life of a Dovahkiin."

"That's..." he sat back in his chair, a little taken aback by the story and out of breath, "wow."

"You're quite a storyteller," a man to Mikhail's right sneered, narrowing his silver eyes at her.

She snorted, "great. You're one of _those_ ," she muttered, rolling her eyes, "I'm sorry. Would you prefer the story of Peter Pan? Or how about Robin Hood? My kids love those stories."

"You really expect us to believe you?" A man standing near the window asked, giving her the same sneer that the other one did.

She snorted, "I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not. I'm not trying to impress you."

Mikhail tilted his head, noting how aggressive she got when she got agitated. _Interesting._ He glanced toward the windows, frowning at the lighting on the horizon, "I really would love to hear more of your world but there isn't enough night left. Perhaps tomorrow night?"

She rolled her eyes, "geez. Even in my world vampires could stand the light if they've fed enough," she said, getting to her feet, "fine then. I'll be back tomorrow."

He gave her a raised eyebrow then, the three men that had escorted her into the house moving as if to cut off her escape, "you plan on leaving?"

She narrowed her eyes at him before smirking, "ask your friend what it feels like to be shouted into a tree," she said, pointing her thumb at Andre, "or to almost be set on fire."

Mikhail glanced at Andre, getting glimpses of the memory of what she said, startling him before he looked at her, "you... shouted at him... In a strange language..."

She smiled, leaning on the desk, her eyes as dangerous as any Carpathian warrior's, "Dovahkiins, Dragonborns, are exactly that. They are born with the soul of a dragon and the ability to learn a shout by absorbing a dragon's soul into their body. When dragons breathe fire, they are actually shouting words of power in the dragon language," her smile widened into a grin, "you have no idea what the fuck I'm capable of or what I can do with just a few words." She ignored the men shifting around them, moving closer to defend the prince.

He kept his eyes locked with hers, searching her mind for malicious intent, only to find the determination to return to her family and world. A small smile spreading across his lips once again, "you won't do anything, because you believe that I can help you, and you're not the kind of person that would just kill someone without a true reason to."

She blinked at this, narrowing her eyes at him before standing straight, "get in my way and that'll be enough of a reason."

Mikhail chuckled, getting to his feet, "you may play the part of the angry badass well, but you're not fooling me, your highness."

She frowned at him, "go fuck yourself."

This made him laugh, her anger amusing him. He walked around the desk, barely looking at her as he passed by, "you can stay here if you like. We'll talk more tomorrow evening."

She ground her teeth, the sudden rise in blood pressure making it difficult to maintain control of her wolf form, "I'm not staying here like a prisoner."

He waved at her over his shoulder, ignoring her complaint as he spoke to the man with silver eyes, "Gregori, please escort Miss Dovahkiir to one of the spare rooms for the day."

The man with the silver eyes sighed, "as you wish, my Prince," Gregori sneered, obviously not happy with the order as he walked past her, heading for the door.

She rolled her eyes, sitting back down in the chair and putting her feet up on the edge of the desk with her hands behind her head as she yawned, closing her eyes. She ignored the dangerous tension that was starting to build in the room. _This isn't much worse than dealing with the Jarls or ambassadors. Shit, I've been more scared of the fucking dwemer ruins around the Rift._ She felt someone step up to her, bringing one eyelid up as she looked up at the silver-eyed man. "Yes?"

He scowled at her, his jaw tightened and his hands clenched into fists, "follow me."

She had never heard someone sound so angry and felt the need to do as he demanded to follow him except... "Say please."

He looked like she had slapped him, his eyes going wide for a second before his expression went back to being annoyed. He ground his teeth, Savana's voice in his mind urging him to swallow his pride to tell this woman, this stranger, this potential threat to the Carpathian people, please. He took a deep breath and swallowed, "please, follow me."

She smirked at him, setting his teeth on end, as she rocked to her feet, "see? That wasn't so hard, was it?" 

He growled at her, only to get an eye roll before turning and starting for the door once again, this time with the strange woman behind him. It was rare for someone to fight the compulsion so easily, then again, he hadn't tried too hard to compel her either. He reached out with his mind, slipping into her's as they walked down the hallway to a spare room. 

_The keep'll be fine with Riordan running it, right? I should see if I can contact him while I'm here. God, I hope I can. I might have to get dad to check up on High Reach and the kids while I'm gone if the call Gem works here. I hope at least one of them works. I hope the boys stay outta trouble while I'm gone._ Images of strange humanoid creatures, what looked like elves, and human children passed through her mind. _I forgot to pick up that sketchbook for Minna and the sheet music for Maisha. I should try to contact someone to go get them since I can't._

He was surprised at how mundane her thoughts were, most of them feeling maternal as he listened to them. He stepped up to a door, turning the knob and pushing the door open, "your room. You will be watched so do not try anything, human."

She scoffed, brushing past him into the room, "I may be mortal but I'm definitely not human."

He snorted, pulling the door closed but not slamming it, which wouldn't have surprised her if he had. 

She sighed, looking around the sparsely decorated room as her wolf hearing picked up the men talking in the other room. It was just faint mumbling but she knew enough to know that they were talking about her and how to handle her. She scoffed, pulling her bow from her back, and sword from her hip, and set them beside the bed as she sat down, working the laces of her boots and jerking them off. She looked at the lattice window, watching the way the sun shined through the warped glass. _They put me in a brightly lit room,_ she noted, narrowing her eyes at the window before smirking, _this doesn't prove anything. Respect and trust are earned, not given, and there ain't a damned one here that's earned it._ She stood, tugging on the buckles on her armor and pulling the cuirass over her head, dropping it on the ground beside her weapons. _If it's true that they can't stand being in the light, then that's the best time for me to leave..._ she looked up at the door, her mind working through her chances of getting out of the house and away from them. Those chances were high but finding a way back to Skyrim and High Reach... Those chances were too low on her own. She sighed, dropping the fingerless gauntlets on the ground next to her armor and falling back against the bed. She stared up at the ceiling of the ever lightening room, her mind going a million miles a minute with thoughts of what to do and how to get back home. _Last time, I had to run through a barrier. Maybe I just have to get back to my hometown in America and that'll send me back the way I usually go_. She crinkled her brows at this thought, shaking it from her mind as she sat up once again, _I doubt it'll be that easy. Nothing ever is._ She yawned, rolling her shoulders as she stretched before crawling into bed. _Oh well. I'll just think of something to do later. I should get some sleep while I've got the chance._ She snuggled down under the blankets, her eyelids drifting down as sleep took her. 

* * *

_Laughing. Always laughing. He was long dead and still he was laughing. At her pain, her struggles._

She sat bolt upright with a cry of fear, sweat beading on her skin and running down her back as her eyes darted around the room, searching for anything, anyone, as if the nightmare alone would appear in the room. She let out a relieved sigh, sliding to the edge of the bed and taking several deep, calming breaths as her hands shook against her knees. A gentle knock at the door brought her eyes up to it, her hand instantly going for the sword leaning against the bedside table. "yeah?"

"I heard yelling. Is everything alright?" a gentle male voice asked from the other side of the door.

She frowned, thinking about the men she had already met and their voices. His didn't match any of them, "yeah, I'm fine," she replied, listening as something scrapped slightly against the wall and floor outside the door, making her frown. _They really put a guard on my door to make sure I stay in my room? What the hell?_ she thought, snorted as she rose to her feet, stretching and pulling on her armor. Her stomach growled at her, making her frown harder as she armed herself and started for the door. She pulled it open, barely surprising the young man sitting just to the right of the doorframe as she walked around him. 

He put his leg out, attempting to block her from walking down the hallway and making her frown, "where do you think you're going?"

She rolled her eyes, "to get something to eat. Unless you're going to go get me something."

His brown eyes glanced at the sword on her hip, "do you really need the sword to get food?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "look here, buddy. I'm not staying in that room because you want to be lazy. I'm hungry. Now either get the fuck outta my way or get your ass kicked."

He gave her an unamused stare before shifting his leg back toward him, giving her room to get by him.

"Thank you," she huffed, walking down the hallway toward the door. 

"Where are you going?" the man's voice was right behind her, making her jolt.

"Hunting," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him, "why?"

He gave her a raised eyebrow, glancing toward a room that they passed, "there's a kitchen..."

She hesitated, blinking a couple of times before sighing, feeling like an idiot, "I figured vampires don't need kitchens."

"Vampires probably don't, but the Carpathians have children that they need to feed," he said, smirking at her.

She frowned at him, turning and walking into the kitchen. She paused, looking around the modern style kitchen with surprise. _I half expected an old house like this to have an old wood stove,_ she thought, flicking on the light. She blinked rapidly at how shiny and new the kitchen looked, making her frown, "feed their children my ass."

He leaned against the doorframe as she moved around the kitchen, searching the cabinets and taking stock of what was in it before starting to pull a couple of pots down from the hanger over the island. She pulled several items out of the fridge, placing them on the counter before chopping everything up and putting it in the pot. He tilted his head, watching her move around the kitchen. It was odd seeing someone dressed as she was in the modern kitchen setting, almost comical when he thought about it. She leaned over the pot, stirring the ingredients before glancing up at him.

She brushed a few loose strands of her reddish-golden hair out of her emerald eyes and sighed, "you hungry?"

He blinked at this, slightly surprised that she asked, but the smell coming from the pot on the stove betrayed his stoic demeanor, making his stomach growl. He cleared his throat, shifting where he stood before looking back at her. 

She smiled at him, a smile that made her eyes sparkle as she nodded toward a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen, "bowls are over there, spoons in the drawer below it."

He pushed away from the doorframe, moving across the kitchen pull down a couple of bowls for the soup. She turned her attention back down to the pot in front of her, stirring everything as it bubbled happily. She smiled at the soup, a little annoyed that they didn't have any meat in the fridge. _I should have gone hunting anyway,_ she thought, gently taking one of the bowls from the man and ladling some of the soup into it before handing it back as he set the other bowl on the counter.

"Thank you," he said, his voice soft.

"No problem," she said, giving him a smile as she scooped herself out some soup, "so, what kind of thrall are you?"

He glanced at her as she leaned on the counter, blowing on the soup on her spoon, "I'm not a thrall."

She looked at him, meeting his eyes before smirking, "why are you doing their bidding then?" she asked, keeping eye contact.

He didn't even blink, "my sister is Rafael De La Cruz's Lifemate," he said as if she should know who that was.

She rolled her eyes, "how old are you, anyway? You don't look much older than sixteen at most."

He scowled at her and she knew he was probably older, "I'm almost twenty-one," he growled, standing straight as he glared at her.

She chuckled, ignoring his attempt at intimidation as she ate her soup, "good for you," she said, having a hard time keeping the sarcasm out of her voice.

"You really thought I was sixteen? Really? I shave, for Gods sake," he growled, rubbing his cheek and chin as if to check for stubble. 

She sighed, standing straight herself, "calm down, junior. You keep acting like that and I'll start thinking that you're twelve," she said, finishing the soup in a couple of swallows before setting the bowl on the counter, "tell you what. You beat me in a hand to hand brawl, kiddo, and I'll stop calling you kid and boy and child. Deal?"

He frowned at her before smirking, looking a little more confident, or cocky, than he had a few moments ago. "Alright, fine. Deal."


End file.
